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The Mitsukoshi Speedmaster

Owner's review of the Omega Speedmaster Mitsukoshi 3570.31 panda dial. Limited to 300 pieces in 2003 and one of the most counterfeited Speedmasters.

The Mitsukoshi Speedmaster
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I've had four Omegas and each one has its own charm. Clearly, I'm a sucker for a good chronograph and the Speedmaster is one of the best. Here's the tally:

So why, after all this, do I need another Speedmaster? Well, I've sold most of my Omegas, only holding on to the Soccer. The Mitsukoshi has always caught my eye because of its black and white panda design. No splashes of red or blue, just monochrome. This reference was made exclusively for the Mitsukoshi department store chain in Japan and limited to 300 pieces.

Over the years, the Mitsukoshi dial became popular and people started modding standard 3570.50 Moonwatches with aftermarket or genuine spare Mitsukoshi dials and handsets. The dials on these 42mm Speedmasters are physically interchangeable, though serious collectors would be unlikely to swap one because it destroys the provenance, among many other reasons. This is one of the most counterfeited Speedmasters I've come across. Modded 3570.50 bases get listed as genuine Mitsukoshis constantly, sometimes with convincing warranty cards that only fall apart under close scrutiny. If you're shopping for one, do your homework.

You might think there would be plenty of panda Speedies out there, but there really aren't. Three references come closest to this design:

Brand and history

The 3570.31 was sold exclusively through Mitsukoshi department stores in Japan, hence the nickname. Mitsukoshi started in 1673 as Echigoya, a kimono shop in Edo-period Japan. It became Japan's first modern department store in 1904. The flagship Nihombashi store in Tokyo is a designated National Important Cultural Property. (Note: Matsuzakaya has older roots, dating to 1611, but Mitsukoshi became the first to formally operate as a modern department store.)

The Omega-Mitsukoshi collaboration in 2003 was probably a boardroom handshake, a thank-you from brand to retailer. Whatever the motivation, only 300 were made and now people lose sleep trying to find one.

There is already much written about the Speedmaster brand and its history. I'll skip the NASA qualification story and the moon landing. You know it, I know it. What makes this specific reference worth talking about is the dial.

Case and dimensions

It's a Speedmaster. Same 42mm asymmetrical stainless steel case the Professional line has used since the 1960s, with the twisted lyre lugs and brushed-and-polished finishing. The bezel is stainless steel with an aluminum tachymeter insert. The caseback is the standard Moonwatch solid steel back with the seahorse and "Flight-Qualified by NASA" text. No special engraving, no sapphire window, nothing commemorative. That's part of what makes this watch interesting to me. It doesn't announce itself. The only tell is the dial.

The dial

As I said at the beginning, it's all about this dial: a pure black and white panda. And why is that so special? I have no idea. There is nothing objectively better about this dial than any other Speedy. It doesn't broadcast anything special about me other than I'm pretty boring and don't even want to endure a small splash of color on my watch. It's more likely that it's rare and rare is fun. It's also true that only the most niche of niche watch geeks would even notice or care.

The dial is white (some describe it as silvery-white) with three black sunken subdials at 3, 6, and 9 o'clock in the standard tri-compax layout. The hands are silver/rhodium-plated. The applied Omega logo at 12 o'clock is stainless steel. All printing is black. Just "Omega," "Speedmaster," "Professional," and "Tachymetre" on a white field. No red anywhere. No gold. No date commemoration.

The Apollo 11 35th anniversary has that red date. The Tokyo Olympics panda has the red Speedmaster text and red seconds hand tip. Only the Mitsukoshi goes fully monochrome. Whether that makes it "better" is entirely subjective, but it's why I wanted this one and not the others.

The movement

Inside is the Omega Caliber 1861, the same hand-wound movement that powered standard Speedmaster Professionals from 1996 until the Caliber 3861 replaced it in 2021.

The 1861 is based on the Lemania 1873. That movement descends from the cam-switched Caliber 861, which replaced the original column-wheel Caliber 321 in 1968-1969. The difference between the 861 and 1861 is mostly cosmetic: the 1861 has rhodium-plated parts instead of copper-plated and unplated parts. Same architecture, same performance.

Specs:

It's not a Master Chronometer and it's not METAS certified. The movement's predecessors went to space, not the 1861 itself, so I won't overstate that connection. What I can say is the thing has been in production for decades and it works. Wind it, set it, come back in two days.

On the wrist

The Speedmaster is one of a select group of watches that look great on a NATO strap. As you can see in the photo above, I put mine on a black Anachronist Zero-Pass, made from ribbed ballistic nylon with PVD hardware. I don't know what ballistic nylon is but it feels built to last. I must have 30 different NATO straps and I think this one looks best.

Buying guide: the fakes

This needs its own section. The Mitsukoshi is probably the most commonly faked Speedmaster you'll encounter. The Omega Forums have multiple cautionary threads on this.

The base watch is a standard 3570.50 Moonwatch. The only things that separate a genuine Mitsukoshi from a modded 3570.50 are the dial and handset. Genuine Mitsukoshi dials have been sold as spare parts over the years, and the price has climbed: around $850 in 2018, then $1,450 in 2019, and by 2022-2023 sellers were asking $3,000-$3,400 for just the dial. Those dials get installed in regular Speedmasters and the resulting watches get listed as "genuine" Mitsukoshis.

Here's what to check:

The warranty card should be stamped by the Mitsukoshi department store. The country code should be JP / 5340. In an April 2024 Omega Forums thread, a member flagged a fake that had a plausible serial number and correct configuration but a dealer stamp that didn't match known Mitsukoshi stamps. A validation with a known expert confirmed it was a mod.

Genuine examples have serials in the 77xxx range. Omega's Extract of the Archives should confirm reference 3570.31 and note "Especially made for the Japanese market." One confirmed genuine example shows delivery to Japan in October 2003.

On price: genuine examples with documentation are trading between $19,000 and $25,000 as of early 2026 based on Chrono24 listings. A "Mitsukoshi" offered at $6,000-$8,000 is almost certainly a mod.

Modded pandas aren't bad watches. They can be enjoyable and they're honest purchases when they're sold as mods and priced accordingly. The problem is when they're passed off as the real thing.

Final thoughts

Paying extra for a limited edition can be risky, so buy it because you love it, not because you think you will make a profit from it. Go ahead and be maniacal about it. Get the right one because if you don't, you'll never quite scratch that itch. The fact that watch collectors can never find the perfect watch boils down to our own ever changing preferences, tastes, and yes, even fashion. You want to wear a watch or drive a car that tells the world who you are. The reality is that no one really cares, so do it for yourself.

{ "title": "Omega Speedmaster Professional Mitsukoshi 3570.31", "score": 3.4, "recommend": true, "ratings": { "Movement": 3.2, "Case": 3.0, "Dial": 4.8, "On the wrist": 3.3, "Value": 1.6 }, "pros": [ "The only panda Speedmaster Professional with a fully monochrome dial", "Genuine rarity at 300 pieces, not manufactured scarcity", "Standard Moonwatch case and Cal. 1861 mean any watchmaker can service it" ], "cons": [ "Market is flooded with fakes and mods passed off as genuine", "Silver hands on a white dial can vanish depending on the angle", "Current prices north of $19,000 are hard to justify for a standard 1861 Speedmaster with a different dial" ] }

References

Matthew Clapp

Matthew Clapp

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